Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The San Antonio Spurs edged the Toronto Raptors 110-107 on Wednesday, pushing their NBA winning streak to 10 games and closing in on Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City Thunder, who fell to the Detroit Pistons. Devin Vassell scored 21 points and De’Aaron Fox added 20 for the Spurs, who overcame a lackluster offensive night from superstar Victor Wembanyama to push their win streak to double digits for the first time since the 2015-16 season. The French big man connected on just three of 12 shots on the way to 12 points in the face of a determined Raptors defense.
But Wembanyama was five-for-six from the free-throw line, and his five blocks included a crucial denial of Jakob Poeltl with 44 seconds remaining. The Spurs improved to 42-16, just two games behind Oklahoma City, who fell to 45-15 after their 124-116 loss to the Pistons in Detroit. Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren scored 29 points apiece to lead the Pistons in a battle of conference leaders touted as a possible NBA Finals preview.
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The clash lost some luster with Oklahoma City’s reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander headlining a raft of Thunder absentees as he missed a ninth straight game with an abdominal strain. Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren, Ajay Mitchell, and Jalen Williams were also sidelined, and Isaiah Joe departed at halftime with a bruised hip. The depleted Thunder led 34-22 after a tight first quarter, but the Pistons out-scored them 36-18 in the second period to seize control and never trailed in the second half.
Duren added 15 rebounds for his 27th double-double of the season. Cunningham handed out 13 assists for Eastern Conference leaders Detroit, who saw a 17-point lead whittled to four with 39.2 seconds left. Cunningham found Duren for a dunk and then drained a pair of free throws as the Pistons held on and at 43-14 slipped ahead of Oklahoma City for best record in the league.
The Nuggets strengthened their grip on first place in the East over the Boston Celtics, who fell 103-84 to the Nuggets in Denver. Nikola Jokic scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Nuggets, who prevailed despite the early exit of ailing Jamal Murray. Jaylen Brown returned from a one-game injury absence to score 23 points for Boston.
In Milwaukee, the Bucks shook off the continued absence of superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-116. Jarrett Allen scored 27 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for Cleveland, but his last-gasp effort that would have forced overtime was ruled to have left his hand after the buzzer. The Cavs were without star guard James Harden, who suffered a broken thumb in a win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday. Harden, who arrived in a trade from the LA Clippers this month, was listed as “questionable” up until game time but joined Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley on the sidelines.
With Antetokounmpo missing a 13th straight game with a calf injury, Kevin Porter Jr. led the Bucks with 20 points, delivering the game-winner with 20.2 seconds left after Dennis Schroder had tied it with 35.6 seconds to play.
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